


sun

by diannatheteenagewitch



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fix-It, Fluff, Naboo - Freeform, Pride and Prejudice in space, Slight Domesticity, Violence, rey isn't a palpatine (implied)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-28
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:09:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21997291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diannatheteenagewitch/pseuds/diannatheteenagewitch
Summary: a rewriting of the ending of the rise of skywalker: in which ben does not die, and rey is not alone.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	sun

**Author's Note:**

> so, i have written a lot of fan-fic before, but this is the only one that i probably will ever post. rey and ben have been my hope for like the past four years, and they bring back a lot of memories for me that i don't really have for any other ship. i took a lot of inspiration from twitter and tumblr (more specifically, from the reylo tag lol)

  
It is cold when Rey lands on Exigal.

There is dread living in her gut, pervading in her every step as she steps closer to the hovering monolith that is the Sith temple.

She wants to look back at her ship, and ponder the decision of leaving and finally being free of the war; but the girl continues on, staring at the seemingly endless light lining the horizon.

When she finally makes her way down into the depths of the temple, her breathing quickens. Towering, hooded statues stare down at her expectantly, stony eyes watching in silent contempt. Long hallways flashing with lightning disorienting her as only her intuition is leading her. She looks down at the path and sees footsteps in the dirt, much larger than her own.

 _Ben_.

Rey rubs her eyes and continues on, waving the thought of him away to no avail.

Finally, she rounds a wall and comes to see a throne. The lightning flashes and she takes a few steps back. _This_ is what she had seen so vividly in her vision. But it was empty now, waiting for her to fill the seat with Kylo Ren.

She turned her head and looked up to see somewhat of a crane descending from the ceiling, holding someone.

"Rey." The someone says, their horrid face illuminated by the flash of lightning. Palpatine.

Chanting fills her ears, and she looks around in horror to see a shadowy arena filled with hooded Sith watching her, waiting for her.

Palpatine chuckles, the sound like rocks rubbing against gravel. "Your Empress!" He yells to the Sith, a twisted grin tugging at his grey features. Then he turns his ghostly gaze to her again, and her heart pounds against her chest, fear pulling throughout her body and soul.

Her light-saber turns on, and she looks down at the blue light, that of which used to be comforting before; but now too overbearing to stare at.

"Granddaughter," Palpatine says, voice still loud to allow the Sith to hear, moved closer to her, "Kill me and the entirety of the Sith will move into _you_ as our vessel."

"If you do not," He continued, then the ceiling opened up to reveal the sky. Her eyes widened and her gaze flickered around to see Resistance pilots being stricken down by the multitudes of Star Destroyers cross-hatching the sky. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she turned her gaze back to Palpatine. "Your little Rebellion," he spat, "will _die_ instead."

Streams of tears fell down her cheeks and she looked down at the light-saber in her hand, vibrating with power. "Make the sacrifice!" Palpatine echoed in her ears, the sound far away despite their proximity. Fear shuddered through her body, and it was taking strength to continue holding onto the hilt of the saber; she closed her eyes, sighing and tried to find some courage inside herself.

When she looked up, she saw the earnest look of Ben in front of her. Sweat dripped upon his no longer furrowed brow, and some bruises reddened his cheek and chin - but he was in front of her, waiting.

Rey would admit to feeling the perilous weight of the entire galaxy's expectations, but _his._ It was impossibly light. Flitting softly, gentle but not so unkind to be indirect or firm. He reminded her of tales of lush, green planets, abundant in beauty: her wish. Her body cedes its shuddering, and her heart-beat slows down as she gazes into dark eyes, shining with the blue light of the light-saber. 

He nods.

As her reality pulses back to Palpatine, she pulls nothing from behind her back.

-

The heat from the light-saber reassured Ben slightly as he watched the Knights of Ren circle around him, watching in silence.

He side-stepped and turned to face the Knight on his right, using all his momentum to push through Ap'lek's block, and kicked his leg up into the Knight's stomach. Ben pushed back to turn and slap the saber into Cardo's helm. Behind him, someone cursed and he looked back to see Kuruk heaving a staff over his head, about to strike Ben down.

However, the Knight's aptitude was not in his martial abilities, and Ben allowed himself to smirk when he maneuvered out of the way to shove his saber into Kuruk's side. Not allowing himself a break, he straightened his legs and force-pushed Ushar into the abyss.

Vicrul came at him speedily, his fist smacking Ben onto the ground. As quickly as he could, he moved the saber into the Knight's stomach. The last of the Knights came towards him, rage radiating off his cloak. Ben focused as he swiftly levitated off the ground, twisting his body back to land on his feet behind Trudgen.

Relief coursed through him once the blue light pierced through the man's armor, and he looked up to the hall in front of him.

 _Rey_.

When he found her, he force-pulled a Royal Guard into the background, looking around at the other Guards lying on the ground around her. She looks at him in slight surprise, blinking.

Ben walks towards her, wanting to smile in spite of their current situation.

He takes his place beside her, and the two of them face Palpatine, alighting their light-sabers and ready to fight.

Palpatine watched in contempt, grey eyes twitching.

The two of them are pulled to their knees, and the pain that courses through him is only doubled when Palpatine tugs slightly at their bond, his grimy fingers somehow touching at the intangible.

He sees the Emperor's fingers go from frail, disgusting stubs, to long and formidable, twisting fingers. The injuries that Ben had suffered before retrieving the light-saber from Rey was now weakening him in his already depleted state. The two of them would not be given relief though, as Palpatine stretched his fingers out towards them and pulled their power from them. 

His eyelids began to flutter, and he fell forward onto the ground, gravity pulling at him to succumb to the earth below him. His breathing slowed, and he mustered the last of his strength to turn towards Rey, seeing her eyes closed already. He reached his hand towards her as darkness encompassed his vision, sighing once his fingers touched her own.

\- 

Her eyes opened up to a sea of lightning and thunder filling the grey sky. Orange explosions dotted the sky, blemishing the dark dreadnoughts shooting green lasers from ion cannons. She could only watch for a moment, nothing going through her mind except her own failure to do anything. 

Cold tears fall down the sides of her temples, and she cannot help but wonder if this is a gift or punishment from death itself. 

It doesn't matter, anymore, does it?

Something mutters at the edge of her mind, like seeing the hastily fading trail of a shooting star in the night sky. She tries to listen closer, blinking slowly. It is louder now.

" _Rey._ " 

Her body jolts, and she starts - flexing her fingers. She feels the pad of someone else's fingers against her own. Turning her head, she finds Ben beside her. It pains her to see his eyes closed, his already pale face duller than it had been. She is so tired herself, it wouldn't take much of anything to close her eyes and be _still_. 

" _Rey!_ " 

Newfound strength allows her to roll onto her stomach and ignore the pain that shoots through her body as she pushes herself off her palms. 

Dizzily, her eyes adjust to an image of the Emperor sitting on his horrid, inky throne; face looking up in bliss at the electrified heavens. The fear that she had felt so palpably before, was now replaced with furious determination to rectify _everything_. 

Rey fights to stand up on her feet, planting them firmly into the ground as she strains to grab a forgotton light-saber from the ground. A moment of reprieve passed over her when she felt the cold hilt press against her palm. Palpatine's yellow eyes switch from the sky to her, surprise flashing over his sagging features. He stands, no longer constrained by the machine that held him from the sky. 

She feels that fear should be rushing through her, but she is reassured somehow. Even if she is tired, even if everything above her is not going the way it should; she is still able. 

That is all she needs, for now. 

He laughs, and the rest of the arena echoes in cackles. "How _pathetic_ ," he spits, his chaotic eyes narrowing into twitching slits, "do you truly believe you can defeat me? You are _nothing_ without your force bond!" The Sith exclaims, and lightning shoots out from his finger-tips in a spectacle of light. Rey quickly blocks it with her light-saber, and she feels the firm stance that she had on the ground destabilize. 

However, she is slightly amazed at the sheer power Palpatine had obtained simply from her force-bond with Ben - even as she feels her defense weakening - the potential she had foreseen in her visions, all of it, all of it was true; and now it was being redirected back to her. 

Cackling fills her ears once more and she is once again reminded that she is alone in her fight against the Emperor. Frustration floods her emotions and she tries desperately not to let the tears that fill her eyes dampen her strength to block Palpatine's lasting attacks. She almost falls to the ground when suddenly, she hears the sound of another light-saber igniting beside her. 

When she looks to her left, she sees Ben, helping her block the branches of lightning projected at them. He glances at her for a moment, eyes fierce and determined, and in that split-second: she nods, and they begin to advance on the Sith. 

"You cannot kill me, _I_ am _all_ the Sith!" Palpatine exclaims, fear overtaking his sagging features when his stolen power begins to redirect to him. 

" _We_ are _all_ the Jedi." The two of them reply; and Rey knows inside that what she says is being pushed out of her by something bigger, and much older than them. She does not need to look to the side to see that Ben is almost glowing when a lightning bolt strikes at Palpatine. She does not need to touch him to feel the pure determination and passion that has been his since he was born. For it is hers, too. 

The Emperor's eyes widen, and Rey allows herself the satisfaction of smiling a little when she sees his lightning redirected back at him - striking at his skin and disintegrating it into nothing. Finally, a loud crack of thunder jolts her and Ben, and everything around them cracks at the seams, falling apart as power explodes back to its rightful place in between them. 

For a moment, the two of them stand silently among the chaos, taking in everything around them. Then, she falls onto the ground; watching as Ben falls to his knee beside her, reaching his arms out to her. 

She sighs tiredly and pushes herself up to wrap her arms around his shoulders, burying her head in his neck and allows herself to finally cry. His hands hold her tight against him, and for all the times they have been together, she never thought to think how warm he was (not like she had the gall to anyways). His breathing shuddered when he pulled her so close that their knees were touching and he took a moment to pull back and look at her. 

As he reaches up to wipe away a fallen tear from Rey's cheek, he can't stop the trembling of his lips and letting his own tears fall. His lids flutter when she reaches up to cup his cheek, and he feels more at peace than he has been _ever_. 

"Rey, I'm sorry." He can't help but say, voice thick from crying and not speaking. She intakes a sharp breath as her thumb fiddles with a stray hair from his face. 

"I am too," She replies lowly, blinking as she looks at tears falling down into her lap. "But we're here now, _together_." She takes his large hand and squeezes it, intertwining her fingers with his. 

Ben smiles, his mouth shaking and it evolves into a grin, dimples adorning his tear-stained cheeks. She sighs, ease flooding through her tired muscles and pulls him somewhat unceremoniously into a kiss, reveling in the way that he melts into her embrace. Even though their teeth bump sometimes due to - extreme - inexperience, there is nothing more than this that satisfies her so easily. Nothing that of which fulfills her so well. Maybe it was from just being finally _with_ him, and allowing herself to do so; but her mind falls silent when he pulls back to look at her, dark eyes sparkling with pure adoration for her. 

"Thank you," Ben says, and she chuckles softly, her eyes crinkling. She grabs his hand again, and pulls his knuckles against her lips, kissing his hand gently. 

"I should be thanking you too," Rey murmurs, "You saved me. I wouldn't have survived if you hadn't been by my side." He shakes his head, eyes flickering between her own. 

"I wouldn't be here if you hadn't saved me on Kef Bir." He counters and she can't bring herself to argue; they wouldn't be here period if they had decided differently. Instead she just rests her forehead against his, and closes her eyes, sighing contentedly. 

-

Naboo is - for lack of better word - beautiful.

It looks like a place realized from dreams - more specifically, Rey's dreams. 

Ben is able to be more appreciative of beauty when he is not at a divide with himself - also being with Rey helps, a lot. Everything on this planet is _truly_ lush, and abundant in something that one could only imagine or wish for. He knows it is filled with memories from the past, but all his mind is able to focus on is finally not feeling alone. That knowing allows him not to try and doubt Rey's happiness being with him, it makes it easier to stifle the insecurities that try to surface when he's overjoyed.

The first night they fall asleep together on Naboo, it is a little bit awkward, and Rey even offers to sleep in another bunk, but the idea falls through when she wakes up in the middle of the night and shuffles into his moonlit room. 

He is still awake and sits up to see her better, a bit relieved to see that she has had as much trouble falling asleep as he had. She says nothing when he lifts the covers to accommodate her; he is a bit amused when he sees her hair out of her signature buns and in a disheveled, long mess, but says nothing too. He lays back down, glancing at her slightly and is surprised to see her looking at him. 

"You must know..." She trails off, and he averts his gaze from the ceiling back to her, swallowing. 

"You must know, that I love you." Her voice is gentle, devoid of expectation, only giving. His breathing shudders, and he blinks rapidly, bottom lip trembling as emotion rushes through him. _Of course_ , he wants to say, but all he can do is turn and look at her with a pink face. He has never done this before; _Rey_ has never done this before either, but it is all she can say, all that she is willing to do.

Instead he replies, "I love _you_ ," as tears well up in his eyes, and she reaches out to pull him into a kiss, smiling. 

The next morning they are in a meadow, silently watching as the sun pulls over the horizon, heating their faces. Suddenly, Ben says this, "I am not perfect. I don't have much to offer you as a partner, I haven't ever done this before," He pauses, trying to get a hold of himself, "But I, I want to try for you - I want to be _with_ you." 

Rey looks at him, biting at the inside of her cheek as she looks down at his non-gloved hand, grasping at the grass below them. She sighs and lets out a small chuckle, scooting closer to him and dusts absentmindedly at his pants, wiping off dirt. 

"You already are, you already are trying, and that's enough for me. All I hope is that it's enough for you." 

He nods hastily, his mouth twisting into a relieved smile, "It is, it is."

The sun rises high into the sky now; and the two of them debate if they should go into town or clean up their cottage. They decide to lay down in bed instead, inexplicably tired from waking up so early for the sunrise. 

Maybe they will clean or go into town another day.

**Author's Note:**

> even though this work is shorter than most other stories that i have written, it still took me a LONG time to write this after my first viewing of TROS. i think it was honestly mostly because i was heart-broken after the ending, and frustrated with how everything played out. i wanted it to actually feel like a fairy-tale ending, instead of one that felt frankly disparaging and dissatisfying. writing this helped me a lot, and it inspired me, so yeah. thank you for reading


End file.
